Philippe Starck (born January 18, 1949) is a well-known French designer and probably the best known designer in the New Design style. His designs range from spectacular interior designs to mass produced consumer goods such as toothbrushes and chairs.
He was educated in Paris at Ecole Nissim de Camondo and founded his first design firm in 1968 (the firm specialized in inflatable objects). In 1969 he became art director of his firm along with Pierre Cardin. Starck has worked independently as an interior designer and as a product designer since 1975. Most notably he has created a number of relatively inexpensive product designs for the large American retailer Target Stores.
Starck's career started it's climb in earnest in 1982 when he designed the interior for the private appartments of the then French President François Mitterrand. After this date more and more works appear on his CV. His most recent occupations include a mouse for Microsoft, yachts and even new packaging for a beer company.
Unlike most other New Design artists, Starck's work does not concentrate on the creation of provocative and expensive single pieces. Instead his product designs are of usable household items who Starck himself helps to market for mass production. His products are often stylized, streamlined and organic in their look and are also constructed using unusual combinations of materials (such as glass and stone, plastic and aluminum, plush fabric and chrome, etc.). Two of these designs include stylish toothbrushes (1989) and a sleek lemon press dubbed the Juicy Salif (1990). The Juicy Salif, in fact, has since become an affordable and popular cult item. A notable and world famous interior design job performed by Starck was for the Café Costes in Paris (1984).
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